


Outstanding Moves

by Papillon10



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien and Marinette still went to school together btw, Adrinette, All the memes, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Human Kwami, I think I'm funny, Ladynoir sprinkled with Marichat, Memes, Texting, and everyone thinks they're so smart, but like, everyone is a little shit, fashion intern, ladrien, not that many, puns, so they already know each other, there are a couple of swear words
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:48:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28285761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Papillon10/pseuds/Papillon10
Summary: “I need to find someone,” Adrien whispered, suppressing a smile.“Playing spy?”“More like Hide and Seek. But I don’t know who I’m looking for.”“How does that even work?” she asked, genuinely surprised.“Ok, no, I kind of know, but like, barely. She works atGabriel. That’s for sure. And she has black hair. And she could've been Asian. I think. I literally saw her only once and half her face was covered. And I was also very excited and very mortified at the same time.”“But you literally saw her,” Marinette said, incredulous. “You have all the data you could need to know what to look for.”He groaned.“We covered that, I’m stupid, now let’s get over it. So? Will you help me find Ladybug?”Welp. That was going to be fun.Or, two idiots work together in more than one place and the brain cell they share is actually Plagg's.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Plagg, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Tikki, Plagg/Tikki (Miraculous Ladybug)
Comments: 49
Kudos: 199





	Outstanding Moves

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PrincessBuggyCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessBuggyCat/gifts).



> Happy holidays, pawsomelybuggy! I was you secret santa and I hope you'll like reading this as much as I loved writing it. I swear I've never laughed so much writing anything before! 
> 
> Also, big shout-out to [bumbleb_tch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bumbleb_tch/pseuds/bumbleb_tch) who betaed this for me and who has a lot of amazing works too, so go check them out!
> 
> Aaaaaaand - last thing, I promise - while writing this I listened almost exlussively to the Bleachers and Bagossy Brothers Company, so if you want something to go with this monster, listen to these:  
> 1\. [Olyan Ö](https://youtu.be/lEU011dGjbk)  
> 2\. [Goodmorning ](https://youtu.be/t0pocjTJQ5I)  
> 3\. [I Miss Those Days](https://youtu.be/qQy12GH1Fl4)  
> 4\. [Don't Take the Money](https://youtu.be/PdRjwHQet_A)  
> 5\. [Rollercoaster](https://youtu.be/FmUw1MmIYvU)
> 
> P.S. Thank you, [SteelBlaidd](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SteelBlaidd), for making your own [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1r92FkGEGMbkdIS5H9J6NP)!!! Please check it out too, it's amazing!

“I’m not moving into the building.”

Gabriel sighed deeply and Adrien _felt_ him crossing his arms and taking a defensive stance.

He didn’t even raise his head from the problem he was currently working on. His father had left him to wait an entire hour in his office for their _appointed_ meeting. Again. He deserved some coldness.

“I only asked you to start taking an active interest in the administrative side of the business.”

“I don’t have a passive interest to begin with,” he deadpanned, finally raising his eyes from the paper on the desk only to give his father the most effective stink eye he could manage.

He’d had literal years to perfect it in the mirror. It was a pretty good one.

“Also,” he continued, as calmly as he could possibly manage, “your idea of an _active_ interest pretty much involves my living in the building. Which I won’t.”

Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“You promised you’d get involved if I let you major in what you wanted. You’re finishing your second year as a Physics major. It’s time you made good on your promise.”

“First off, I promised I’d start learning how to manage a business. Not yours specifically. Second off, I am making good on my promise. Anything else? I’d only just started getting the gist of this,” he finished, pointing to the paper full of equations and schemes on the desk.

Gabriel ignored it.

“It was very clearly implied from the context we were talking about Gabriel and you know it. I don’t care what ridiculous machinations you’ve come up with in order to excuse yourself from work, I expect you to be a proper Agreste and keep your word.”

“You know, I am a proper Agreste. Which means I’ve learned from the best how to make a deal be in my favour. You might’ve been talking about your business. I wasn’t. Too bad you didn’t ask. I’m starting my shifts as soon as I finish my exams. Which I’m studying for, as you might’ve noticed. And you’re quite distracting. May I go now, father?”

 _A proper Agreste_ down to the marrow in his bones, Adrien was the epitome of calmness and collectedness, his expression almost bored as he defied his father the way he’d dreamed to since his mother died and he went into permanent tiger parent mode. He was telling him _no_ without worrying about the consequences, without giving his all to find a compromise. Revenge was sweet, indeed. Also panic-inducing.

Because Adrien was bluffing the shit out of his every breath and by the squint in Gabriel’s eyes, his father was _this_ close to calling him out on his every bluff.

So Adrien squinted right back. You know, like a liar.

“Enlighten me, then, son. Do tell, what other business will you learn how to manage? Did you manage to get yourself an internship with Lanvin? Chanel? _Dior_? How much did it cost you to _annoy_ me?”

Adrien smirked, the whirl of panicking thoughts making a mess out of his head finally coming to a stop on the perfect idea. _He wanted ‘annoyed’? Oh, he’d give him ‘annoyed’_.

“With _Kwami Café_ , actually,” he started and paused for effect. Then, he dropped the bomb, smirk stretching wider, “and I’m starting as a barista.”

Gabriel’s absolute horror brought Adrien utmost glee.

“I am once again asking for you to stop being ridiculous,” he muttered, seemingly already convincing himself Adrien was just messing with him.

Which he was. But Gabriel wasn’t supposed to know that.

“Oh, you don’t believe me? Want to talk to my manager, convince yourself?”

His father’s conviction seemed to waver more with every passing second and Adrien was having the time of his life. He had been wrong, all his little rebellions didn’t peak with his majoring in Physics instead of Business. No, if he managed to avoid working at _Gabriel_ , that would be his best achievement, worthy of a true champion’s medal. And a night out with his friends.

A night out with his friends sounded good anyway. Not that he had the time. Exams… and all that.

Gabriel seemed to have taken a decision as he started shaking his head slowly. “If you want me to believe it, I have to see it. All of it. The contract, the manager. _You working_.”

It took everything Adrien had not to let the dumbstruck show and add a “wait, that’s illegal” to the boot.

If they squinted their eyes anymore they’d stop seeing altogether.

“Good.” It wasn’t good. “Too bad you’ll have to wait a few weeks.” _That_ was good. That was helpful. His father couldn’t even remember his birthday. And that was every year. Fat chance he could remember a random date.

“So tell me, when do you start exactly, I want to make sure I won’t miss it.”

Welp. Back to square one: Panic. Adrien couldn’t remember when he had his _first exam_ in that moment even if someone paid him. So with utmost confidence, he told his father a random date he was pretty sure was in his first exam-free week. He sure hoped so.

Upon further inspection - his checking the calendar on his phone the moment he stepped out of his father’s office - he discovered it was the Sunday after his last exam. Not good, not bad. _Certainly_ could’ve been worse, however much he suspected he would’ve needed the rest during that weekend.

One crisis avoided, he breathed in and took for _Kwami Café_. He had to inform his manager that… well….he was his manager.

  


* * *

  


Marinette didn’t expect to spend her Monday morning helping Tikki bake cupcakes and keeping Plagg away from the frosting while Tikki took care of the ever-growing line of customers and Plagg did literally nothing to help any of them.

“How can you even go wrong with frosting?” he grumbled after ten minutes of watching her finish cupcake after cupcake.

But here she was.

“You tell me, you’re the expert,” she hummed, placing another colourful cake in the display.

“Tikki, tell her,” he insisted, still obviously pouting.

“Yes, Marinette, I am forever grateful, don’t let him get near those again.”

“I hate you both and I’m never helping you again.”

Tikki snorted rather loudly, getting herself a weird look from the customer in front of her. “You know, you could clean the mess you’ve made,” she added, turning briefly towards him and promptly returning to a new customer.

“But frosting!” he whined, like the big child Marinette figured he was.

“Yes, the frosting. It’s all over the place.”

He left her side with heavy steps and a deep sigh, taking his place at the counter alongside his wife. Marinette took a moment to watch them work together in perfect synchrony, Plagg taking care of the drinks while Tikki handled the display of sweets. She didn’t waste much time, though, returning quickly to the last bit of work she had left.

She’d come to the café like she did almost every morning on her way to the University, pastries just out of the Dupain-Chengs’ ovens in tow. She’d been especially eager to get there too. Tikki had planned to expand their menu with some sweets of their own; she’d seen the brand-new oven, she’d seen the recipes Tikki had been playing with at home, but she’d never imagined it’d turn out to be a disaster.

The lingering smell of smoke that’d greeted her as soon as she’d entered made her pause in her tracks. “What happened here, don’t you have to open in like, ten minutes?”, she’d snorted, placing the Dupain-Cheng pastries they always ordered on a nearby table and getting closer.

Tikki had huffed. “Tell that to mister ‘got it covered’ over here,” she’d added, barely looking at Marinette before returning to her grumbling husband and uncooperative oven.

She was barely keeping her calm as Plagg started mansplaining - again, most probably - exactly _how_ that oven was like the one they had at home.

The batch of burnt cupcakes abandoned in their vicinity begged to differ. And so did Tikki.

“I shouldn’t have let you make sure everything was alright when you barely know what the one at home looks like,” she’d heard her red-haired friend hiss under her breath while her husband huffed, obviously feeling insulted.

“You don’t complain when I make us lasagna.”

“Lasagna is not cupcakes and you clearly can’t see any difference between everything an oven can do!”

“I got the best I could find!”

“Not my point!” she’d glared at him and turned around for the oven’s manual Plagg had probably been supposed to study.

She’d shuffled closer leaning over the counter and looking curiously at the offending machine.

“Any chance you can help us figure it out, bakery girl?” Tikki had raised her head and asked with hope gleaming in her eyes; Marinette couldn’t _not_ get closer. She might’ve been clumsy, but her parents had counted on her to watch over the ovens at home countless times and she never disappointed. After the first unsuccessful attempts.

A glance over the manual Tikki had handed to her, a couple minutes of fiddling with the buttons and a new batch of cupcakes was inside in no time.

“That should do it,” she’d chirped and turned around to explain the gist of it to the two.

“I feel like we’d use some more help around here, when do you need to get to school?” Tikki’d asked, ever considerate, as she handed Marinette her usual coffee and threw one last worried look at the perfectly innocent oven behind her.

Marinette’s entire thought process was something along the lines of ‘fuck it, might as well’ as she got rid of her coat and purse and cracked her knuckles. “My second class starts in two hours and presence is mandatory for that one, so I’d say, an hour and a half. Should be enough to get you going,” she’d smiled, and the rest was history. In the making.

She and Tikki always got along, even when they’d just met. Marinette was still in high school when her parents first sent her to deliver fresh pastries to a small café nestled in between two old buildings on a quiet street. The owners, a chirpy red-head and her ever disinterested husband, seemed nice - one more than the other.

 _Kwami_ wasn’t the only café getting their pastries from the Dupain-Cheng bakery at the time, but since their orders were the smallest, it was easy for Marinette to deliver them. And the more she went there, the more she liked the place.

She’d even showed it to Alya. Quite a nice hanging out spot.

Tikki was a sweet woman, in her early thirties but as easily-enthusiastic as a child. When she saw Marinette sketching at one of their tables one day, she showed her her own art and comics - pretty popular on the Internet, Marinette had been pleased to discover. They bonded easily and quickly over their shared passion for art. It soon became a fun past-time for Marinette to design all kinds of outfits for Tikki’s characters.

Now a second year ESMOD student but not past delivering their pastries as often as possible, Marinette still loved Tikki and her café just as much - if not even more.

When she’d told her she was thinking of expanding the menu, Marinette had been as excited as Tikki herself. And, of course, she’d offered to help.

But she never imagined they’d be _that_ hopeless.

“How _does_ one even go wrong with frosting?” she snorted again, remembering the sight of Plagg eagerly getting the first _good_ batch from the oven and going straight for the frosting. Which he’d somehow managed to use to cover himself in, the tray with unfrosted cupcakes, the tray with _frosted_ cupcakes, _and_ the floor.

Marinette and Tikki had been busy actually opening the café and taking care of the display still only bearing the Dupain-Cheng sweets, but when Tikki finally saw his mess, he was lucky the first customer walked in.

Marinette had just laughed, then stepped in. She’d even offered to help Plagg with his technique, but of course he was too proud for that.

It didn’t end there.

She’d started using the fifteen minutes she would have spent savouring her coffee any other day before school, helping Tikki and Plagg with their newest experiments. And frosting. But she only had morning classes three days a week. And after calling her in to help them every day for a week and a half, including the weekend, Tikki figured Marinette was too polite to say they were really actually bothering her pretty much. She also figured the girl was a god-sent and that they had to do something about it. Especially after Marinette tweaked a recipe while making it that second week, and made it two times more delicious than everything Tikki’d baked at home herself.

So they did the most logical thing: hired her.

Which Marinette was indeed quite interested in. The salary was really, really tempting. Especially with her upcoming unpaid internship just around the corner.

Marinette’s only complaint was that they couldn’t wait a couple more weeks until summer vacation started. They’d somehow managed to ask her in the last week before her exam session.

It was far from the best case scenario, but they managed. They’d promised Marinette a flexible schedule anyway.

And the few shifts she managed to squeeze in during the weekends turned out quite fun.

A pity, truly, that for her to be a real help, she kind of had to work mornings only.

  


* * *

  


“So you need a fake contract, a fake manager and a fake job. Is that all?”

It was the middle of the day and the café was surprisingly empty, save for two students busying themselves with papers and books in opposite corners. Adrien was leaning on his elbows on the counter, getting as close to Plagg as possible and one weird look away from doing the most effective puss in boots eyes he could manage.

“Basically, yes.”

Plagg took him in with squinted eyes and Adrien abandoned the kitty eyes idea in favour of squinting right back. His eyes were starting to hurt from so much squinting. It made him want to nap.

He kind of wanted to nap anyway.

“Good. Camembert,” Plagg decided and promptly turned away.

Adrien gaped. “ _Good_? That's all you have to say?”

Plagg looked lazily at him like he was stupid. The way he normally did. “I said camembert too.”

“Yeah but I barged in here telling you to _fake_ me a contract and let me work here _illegally_ , basically. And to lie to my dad. Face to face.”

“Yes. Chaos. I love it. And I asked for camembert in return. Five wheels now, five that day.”

“But you didn’t even ask Tikki…?” he stammered out, confused. It was too damn easy, it shouldn’t have been that easy.

Plagg just waved him off. “She won’t mind. She’s not even here now. I’ll tell her sooner or later.”

Plagg was pure chaos. Adrien had known him for more than two years and not once did that man seem normal. It was weirdly endearing. In a way.

He’d stumbled upon the cozy café after a shoot that ended early. Eighteen and fed up to the brim with his father’s controlling attitude, he simply took his bag and left, sending a message to Nathalie on the way that he’d be back. It was not like he’d never done that before, it was just the first time he did it determined for it to become the norm. And with two hours to spare, Adrien simply explored.

 _Kwami Café_ seemed mysterious and quaint enough to not worry about crazy fans, so he took a chance and went in, a few college-aged people drinking their coffees with the faint sound of music in the background.

It felt homey.

Even with the seemingly disinterested barista at the front.

It felt homey, and Adrien craved that sort of peace and warmth. So he came back, again and again and again, waving his driver off when he got out of school or practice, or taking his bag and leaving his photoshoots as soon as they ended like it was nobody’s business. Because it wasn’t. It was his moment alone.

It was during that summer after they graduated highschool that he started going there in the evenings. After endless fights with his father over the major he was going to choose, after endless fights with his father over the major he did end up choosing, Adrien craved the peace more than ever, the tension from home seeping even into his lonely room and quiet garden. He would spend hours just going through the city and then make a final stop at the café.

Right before his admission exam - right after the biggest fight he’d had with his father that far - he dreaded going home so much he stayed in the café until a bored Plagg finally came to him to tell him “ _it was kind of closing time_ ”. Adrien had been stubbornly ignoring his increasingly obvious hints that he should _kind of_ leave for long enough, but that didn’t make him wish he could continue any less. Something in his eyes might have clued the barista in, though. And that was the moment he found out Plagg was in fact a very disinterested, but surprisingly supportive man at the same time.

Of course, his idea of being supportive was pretty much summed up by the very enthusiastic, covinced and loud “fuck your father” he got out after insisting Adrien told him what was bothering him so much he needed more than seven mugs of hot chocolate to get over it. The appalled look his wife gave him from behind the counter could still make Adrien laugh just thinking about it.

A week later when the results came in, Plagg and Tikki found out he was officially a Physics major before his father did.

They gave him another hot chocolate on the house and they became kind of friends.

It was exactly why Adrien wasn’t surprised by Plagg’s dismissive and thoroughly chaotic attitude anymore. So hoping he didn’t forget to tell Tikki, he shrugged, and left the café already thinking of the problem he’d been so diligently solving when his father oh so rudely interrupted him.

  


* * *

  


Working during her exam session was hell, Marinette decided, four weeks later and finally done with said hell.

She was lucky she’d been pretty far ahead with her final project when Tikki hired her, otherwise she wouldn’t have managed to finish it in time regardless of how lenient and understanding Tikki was, or how much both she and Plagg had managed to learn about cookies, pastries and cupcakes.

The only thing that’d brought her some of her will to live back was the pay she got halfway through. _“Never underestimate the power of money”_ she’d wondered at her - admittedly short-lived - new-found joy. But she’d been feeling it coming back again, for the time being. She _did_ finish her second year with flying colours, after all and she _was_ set to step foot into a new kind of hell that very morning.

She couldn’t wait for it.

Jittery and excited all through her brief visit at the café, she was now looking up at the tall, fancy, and thoroughly intimidating _Gabriel_ building almost twenty minutes earlier than she should’ve been.

 _Big breath in, big breath out_. And she was in.

She’d been one of the lucky few who hadn’t only managed to score an internship, but score one at _Gabriel_ at that. She was living her dream - minus the unpaid part, but really, she could live with that for the time being - and she couldn’t have been more excited, especially since that also meant she got to spend more time with Adrien.

Sure, they’d kept in touch after highschool. He _was_ living with Nino after all, and Nino _was_ still dating Alya, but however good friends they still were and however much they still tried to hang out together, all four of them, she was excited to have more things in common with him, to have more things to talk about, more things to bond over.

She was pretty sure she didn’t even have his number anymore.

After highschool, when she’d changed her phone, she’d changed her number too, and having decided it was high time she truly got over her crush since forever at around the same time, she vaguely remembered skipping his number when saving those from her previous phone.

 _Not that it ever really mattered_ , she thought, typing a quick “I’m here, wish me luck,” on her private chat with him.

She’d truly managed to forget her crush for a while, when both of them were in separate relationships. But then he broke up with his girlfriend and then _she_ broke up with her boyfriend, and really, how could she resist him when he was so sweet, and gentlemanly, and funny, and kind whenever they met, or chatted, or whatever. It had been just a matter of time until her crush came back. At least she’d become mature enough to stop being so tongue-tied around him. And be a crazy fan.

And now there it was - the perfect opportunity to bond - right in front of her.

It wasn’t even about the crush in itself, just an opportunity to become better friends. And she wouldn’t miss it for the world.

 _Gabriel_ was just as enormous as it looked from the outside, already buzzing with people in spite of the still early hour. It was chaotic, it was nerve-wracking. It was a dream in the making.

Papers to sign, talks to have, some more papers to sign, and a few hours of rushing around the Designers’ floor later, she found herself back to the first floor, eyes darting everywhere in search for her official unofficial guide. Who was idly playing on his phone while waiting for her. Adrien’s brief confusion morphed quickly into the brightest smile as she tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

“Ready for your unofficial tour?” he beamed, and she couldn’t help but beam right back.

Adrien had offered the moment she announced - all caps, no punctuation - that she got the internship at _Gabriel_. She suspected he saw it as an opportunity to spend more time together as much as she did.

“Damn right I am. How much time do you have?”

“I’m free today. I have two more exams this week, but it’s no rush. And then, I’ll resume my work here,” he rolled his eyes, clearly deeply displeased with the idea. She winced, but he didn’t let the sour mood go on for long, brightening right back in a second.

“But _you_ , little Miss Dupain-Cheng, are not here to hear me complain about stupid photoshoots. Plus, I’m sure they’ll be a lot more entertaining with a friend I can annoy in person instead of spamming Nino,” he grinned down at her, and she couldn’t hold back a giggle.

“You could never be annoying, come on,” she admitted, as Adrien made a motion for her to follow him and started for the closest elevator.

“You wound me. To say you’ve known me since college and still think I’m not annoying,” he gasped playfully, the same old dork she did indeed know since college.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how that works. One. Two, you’re absolutely insufferable,” she exaggerated, bumping his shoulder gently to show exactly how serious she was, and then hummed, “but I can manage.”

When Adrien laughed, he laughed with his whole being, brightening the whole room and spreading the joy like it was contagious. You couldn’t help but love his joy, you couldn’t help but _share_ his joy.

“This insufferable person also offered to be your official guide so let’s get down to business.”

“Please don’t say it,” she rushed to interrupt his obvious follow-up only making his eyes twinkle brighter and his smile turn into a grin.

“To defeat the huns,” he purred, just to spite her. The dork absolutely knew she’d never minded his puns as much as she wanted to make him think she did and he took full advantage of it every time could.

“Yes, come on, pretty boy, make a man out of me,” she rolled her eyes, dragging him into the elevator with her and trying her best not to blush. By the way she felt her face, she could bet her best was not enough. She avoided looking at Adrien however curious she might’ve been whether he blushed too, and simply hoped he didn’t take her ‘pretty boy’ comment too seriously.

His following laugh made her inclined to think he really didn’t.

“I’ve seen you lift flour bags in _high-school_. You can already kick my butt any day.”

She finally turned towards him and raised an eyebrow. She could go one route or the other, really: deflect and change the subject, or plunge headfirst into the unknown. But deciding that however much she was dying to mention the latest _Gabriel_ underwear line and the lean muscles he’d flaunted in those photos, she’d skirted the flirting territory enough for a supposedly platonic meet-up. So in that split second, she chose the former.

“You have way too much faith in me, really,” she laughed.

“Meh, debatable,” he shrugged, just in time for them to get off the elevator.

Half an hour later, their tour ended with the highlight of the day - and her lunch break, really: the caféteria on the third floor.

The caféteria, Marinette discovered sometime during that first week, was truly the most inspiring place in the whole building. Especially after a whole morning of running errands and helping with photoshoots that left her dealing with annoyed photographers, annoying models, and designers that were a lot of both.

Though the experience was already proving itself as plenty while-worthy.

The few discussions she’d managed to have with the designer she was supposed to shadow had been as useful as they were short, and the sheer fact that she could see how everything really worked in such a big company - in her _dream_ company - was invaluable.

And in spite of the whole thing being exhausting as hell, she was enjoying it. After all, she had expected exactly that. Especially with her part-time work at the café to top it all.

What she didn’t expect, however, was Tikki to text her at the end of the week that they’d just hired someone else.

  


* * *

  


“Teach me, senpai.”

“You’re fired,” Plagg shot from behind the counter that Sunday, as Adrien beamed at him, leaning on the counter much like a month prior when he got himself in this mess to begin with.

“I don’t even work here,” he smirked, committed to annoying his friend as much as he could get away with.

“Damn sure you don’t, good luck explaining that to your dad.”

“You wouldn’t,” he pouted, not even caring that Plagg never looked at him once since he announced his presence.

“Try me. Where’s my camembert?” he finally turned around, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. _Serious business, indeed_.

Adrien raised a bag from where he’d been holding it at his side and promptly presented it to his new ‘boss’. Plagg had been too busy frowning at his new appearance to notice how he was just about to dump his precious cheese in the most ungraceful manner. The thump it made as it hit the counter might as well have been a punch in the gut for him.

“That’s not how you treat _camembert_ ,” he gasped, momentarily forgetting all about Adrien’s weird look.

“You have six wheels in there, I really need you to not be an absolute shit today.”

“Correction. I have six wheels in there cause you were feeling generous,” smirked Plagg. “Now come here and get an apron. How much do we have til your dad shows up? And what’s up with the hat, I know we have the AC on, but it’s not that cold.”

“I have no idea when he’ll show up, I told him I have an afternoon shift. I bet he’ll come right before closing time just so he can keep me on my toes the whole day.”

“If I didn’t know he was absolute shit, I’d almost like the guy,” he hummed, taking absolute delight in Adrien’s misery.

“And these,” Adrien drawled out, completely ignoring Plagg and gesticulating to the hat hiding most of his blond hair and the glasses now framing his eyes, “is my attempt at trying to hide my identity. Just imagine, I work here one day, and the media explodes. Fans start coming in in waves, but surprise, there’s no Adrien Agreste anymore. I don’t think we wanna have to deal with that, and I hope this will work well enough for one day.”

“Good enough for me, now shut up and come here so I can show you how to make some decent coffee while it’s still quiet.”

Complying, Adrien found himself an apron, tied it behind his back and got to Plagg’s side. It felt weird being on that side of the counter, but weirdly exhilarating too.

He had one hour to learn something useful. After that, his father could show up any moment. The way Plagg fiddled with an oven grumbling about useless buttons and stupid cupcakes, Adrien got the sudden feeling he was behind the counter with the _wrong_ owner.

“Where’s Tikki?” he asked, the picture of innocence. He estimated he needed three more tries, two of them not at all subtle, for Plagg to figure out what he wanted.

His reaction… was not what he’d expected.

He stiffened, tray with slightly too golden cupcakes in hand. The swift fuck he breathed out almost inaudibly made Adrien groan so loud all five customers minding their business at some tables threw him weird glances. He barely acknowledged them before he facepalmed.

It wasn’t fair for him to feel the pain when _Plagg_ was the idiot. But he’d get what he could have and facepalm it was.

“You forgot to tell her.”

“I forgot to tell her,” he nodded, finally leaving the hot cupcakes down and looking towards the door Adrien knew led to their office.

“I gather she’s in there,” deadpanned Adrien, taking his apron off. He would _not_ get Tikki to be mad at him barging in and telling her he was about to play employee for the day like it was nothing.

“You had a literal month to tell her,” he hissed at Pagg.

“Shut up, it was more than enough for me to forget.”

“Who’s gonna ask her?”

“These cupcakes need frosted and I can’t let a newbie ruin them,” he shook his head, pursing his lips and raising his eyebrows. “Good luck kid.”

Adrien groaned. “More like you value your life too much. Pity. You could’ve told her I’d just come in,” he smirked and rushed towards the door before Plagg processed how much of a shit he was.  
There was a reason they got along, and that reason was not their serious dispositions.

As he knocked on the door he looked at Plagg, wildly gesticulating that he’d kill him. And vaguely muttering some curses at him, he supposed. Tikki’s bright smile greeted him before he could dwell on that.

“Hi Adrien, what happened?” she asked, slightly surprised to see him.

He threw Plagg one last side glance. “I need a huge favour from you,” he started, counting way too much on Tikki’s general kindness. Tikki’d apparently followed his gaze. She and Plagg seemed to hold an entire conversation in that shared gaze, and Adrien wondered if she’d overheard and they were both dead now.

“Of course, but first,” she threw him a brief, sweet look before hardening her gaze and turning her head back towards Plagg, “get away from those. I told you to tell me when they were done.”

“It’s just frosting, for God’s sake!” he threw his hands in the air, a nice gallop of said frosting flying straight on a cupboard.

Adrien moved his eyes from Plagg to the smear of pink sliding down slowly but surely.

“Put. That. Down. Before any more frosting gets on the walls instead of the cupcakes.” Tikki was almost growling and Adrien felt like that exact same thing happened way too often.

He huffed as he let the piping bag down and crossed his arms again. “It’s been a damn month, I can do it now.”

The frosting fell with a plop on the counter under the cupboard it’d landed on, and Plagg insisted on ignoring it like it didn’t exist.

“You learned to make some mean cookies, honey, but please let’s just agree you can’t decorate _shit_.”

“Now you’re just being mean,” he decided, profoundly disappointed in his wife and ignoring the true issue of the day as masterfully as he was ignoring the pink blob of frosting decorating the counter instead of a cupcake. Adrien decided he needed to take matters into his own hands again, so he _tactfully_ cleared his throat to get Tikki’s attention again.

“Right,” she turned back towards him, smile slipping back onto her lips like Plagg hadn’t been ridiculous for three minutes straight. “What favour do you need?”

“Ok, so, you know how father is, right? Part of why he let me study Physics in the end was because I promised I’d get involved in the business. Sometime. And he decided that that time is this time, and I really couldn’t care less about _Gabriel_. So I told him that I’m already learning how to run a business and that that business is not his. And that I started from being a barista, to see how everything works.”

Tikki looked at him for what felt like an eternity. Then she snorted.

“It’s just for today, though,” he hurried to explain. “I’m really sorry for springing this up on you like this, Plagg has known for enough time to forget to tell you,” he added, throwing a glare at a very affected Plagg just to make his point clear.

“Father comes in, sees me working here, I give him a coffee, and we’re golden. Plagg already emailed him my ‘contract’ so it looks legit enough.”

Her amused expression did nothing for his confidence. Neither did her _innocent_ , “You’re so screwed”.

She didn’t hesitate much, though. Taking in his desperate expression one more time, she finally nodded with determination.

“If you think your father will give you a break after this, come on, take an apron and let’s teach you how to make coffee.”

Relieved down to the marrow in his bones, he breathed out the most sincere ‘thank you’ he could manage and ran straight for the apron he’d discarded not long before.

“Plagg, dear, cleaning duty the whole week,” he heard her chirp at Plagg as he tied the apron behind his back, and he barely held in his laughter.

“C’mon, sugar cube, why am I being punished,” he whined, going to her and slumping over her back.

“You had all the time in the world to tell me too, and we could’ve shown Adrien how to impress his father so much earlier.”

“I thought I told you,” he mumbled, pushing more of his weight on her until she inevitably scooted down to get away from him, making him lose his balance in the process.

“Adrien,” she called, clapping her hands, all business _and_ excitement. “We could always just let you man the register, but I feel like your dad won’t take it seriously if he doesn’t see you do _everything_.”

“And you’re absolutely right,” he agreed, his own excitement making, slowly but surely, a comeback.

“Then get here, you’re learning to make coffee.”

Which was really not as easy as Adrien had thought. Too many syrups, too many pumps, too many sizes, and shots, and _halves_ being thrown at him like he didn’t just get a cappuccino whenever he walked into a coffee shop.

At least it was entertaining. Especially when Plagg got all serious and stopped Tikki to pun.

“One does not simply let the shot of espresso sit for more than ten seconds without dairy added,” he’d said, one particular time, and Adrien knew his time had come.

“I got it. I don’t want the customer to Mordor me.”

“You want one espresso to rule them all.”

“This is what I’m Tolkien about.” He stopped abruptly, looked down for second, then started chuckling to himself, eyes sparkling brighter. “I need a Legolespresso,” he whispered, and promptly cracked up like it was the funniest thing in the world.

The finger guns he and Plagg threw at each other had Tikki facepalming and Plagg shooed off to take care of any new orders they might get. She also clearly specified he was no to touch the cupcakes.

So he did exactly that. Not that any of them noticed until a customer came in, making the bells above the door jingle merrily.

Tikki turned promptly around, professionalism written in the way she straightened up. Until she saw Plagg, slumped over the same tray of cupcakes Tikki had insisted he was not supposed to touch. Touching them.

Adrien saw her pinching her nose before she decided she could spare ten seconds to sneak behind Plagg and let a hand fall heavily on his shoulder, promptly startling him.

“Please, for the love of God, let someone show you how to do that,” she hissed.

His exasperated “It’s just frosting!” felt like a broken record already, but he left the pipe bag back down and dragged himself to Adrien’s side as Tikki saw to the customer’s order.

“Why don’t you just let her show you,” asked Adrien, genuinely curious now.

“It’s become a matter of pride, kid. I’m not letting a couple of stupid cupcakes best me.”

He snorted. “I think it’s a little too late, for that, buddy,”

“Oh no, I haven’t given in yet, I’m on the right track, I tell you.”

“You’re absolutely ridiculous.”

“Thank you, I try.”

Tikki didn’t take long to return and even let Plagg go on with his little interventions. To Adrien’s surprise, they decided he was ready to take care of some orders by himself pretty quickly. It did feel like real training. For a real job. And the satisfaction was as big as if it was exactly that.

He just wished a little less people would give him weird looks.

“Has anyone ever told you you look exactly like that model, Adrien Agreste?” started one particular girl, never taking her eyes off him.

It was the fifthteenth time that'd happened and he was _tired_.

“Who?”

He heard Plagg exhale loudly right behind him and he knew he was giving his all not to start laughing.

“You know, that guy... his face is everywhere in the city?” she tried once more and he lifted an eyebrow, _confused_. “His dad is that famous designer.”

“Look,” he sighed, “I’m only interested in physics, not my physique,” he said, with the straightest face and most serious tone, and Plagg lost it behind him.

Plagg turned around still laughing and Adrien reigned in his urge to smack him over the head. Respect your superiors and all that.

“It’s his first day here and everyone asked him that. Next thing you know, it’ll get to his head and he’ll start modelling,” he wheezed out, and the girl finally took her coffee and left.

“I hate you with all my heart,” Adrien groaned, and got back to work. At least no one actually recognized him.

Except for his father.

He walked in, all business and sobriety, and Adrien could’ve sworn the temperature dropped a couple degrees when he entered.

The moment they locked eyes, Adrien felt like he was inside the most cliche western. Gabriel’s stopping at the entrance, looking straight towards his son, and slowly, methodically, arranging his tie like it didn’t already look perfect, had the same energy as the bandit kicking the door open and taking his gun out.

Adrien cracked his knuckles.

Then, smiled the sweetest customer-service smile he could and played his role like his life depended on it. Because it metaphorically did.

And shots were fired. In his dad’s Americano. To make it as bitter as his heart and also the way he’d asked.

Neither of them said anything other than what was strictly necessary and it felt so weird to hear the buzzing of the other people inside. It felt like all those people really didn’t care he was having a literal duel with his own father for his independence.

He was a literal breath away before asking Gabriel if he didn’t want some tea instead.

He could imagine how that would go… “Why,” would Gabriel ask, most probably squinting. “You know, Americano, America… freedom… _tea_... see where I’m going?” And then Gabriel would stop and _surely_ ask himself where he’d gone wrong and how to disown his son faster.

On second thought, he should’ve probably shot that pun.

But he didn’t, so Gabriel simply took his bitter, bitter coffee and sat at the nearest table, somehow still _not_ paying attention to his son. He was literally there to see for himself that Adrien was working - and he had been doing a damn good job, considering only one customer yelled at him in so many hours - and Gabriel wasn’t even _looking_. The moment he sat down, he took his tablet out and probably continued his work like he never left the building in the first place.

So Adrien rolled his eyes and saw to his own business. Tikki gave him a confused look from where she was just beside him serving another customer herself, but he didn’t really acknowledge it. The only thing he wanted was for him to do a ’ _perfect_ ’ job so that if his father ever decided he should do what he’d come there to, he’d see his _capable_ son doing a _good_ job and being _responsible_.

Of course that only served to stress him out more. However relaxed and comfortable Tikki and Plagg had managed to make him feel, he was now tense and worried, his mind wandering back to Gabriel.

The highlight of his father’s barely thirty minutes visit was certainly the time he managed to mix up the syrups. He definitely caught his father shooting him a very unimpressed look from the corner of his eye when Tikki tried, as quietly as possible, to correct him and tell him to make another one.

Still, for his first day, he was confident. Until Gabriel finally stood up and decided it was time for the final shot.

He came to the counter again and knocked softly on it. “Good, you had your fun, but I expect you tomorrow at nine in my office.”

Adrien opened his mouth. He didn’t know what for, he just opened it. Plagg was faster.

“Unfortunately, Adrien has a shift tomorrow morning too, so you will have to reschedule.”

He jumped at the opportunity, “Or, you know, just keep your promise and stop trying to involve me into the business more than I already am.”

Gabriel didn’t respond immediately.

“You expect me to believe my son, who I am confident has never seen a coffee machine before today, really works here?”

“You have seen the contract, you have seen him working, what more would you need to understand Adrien is _my_ intern,” mused Plagg, and Adrien could’ve sworn at that moment the man had rolled his eyes.

Gabriel scoffed, “Why the superficial disguise if you are so sure you will keep working here?”

_How did he even get himself in these situations?_

“I didn’t want a scandal. People would start wondering why I need a second job and I believe It’s better if we keep our problems to ourselves,”

Gabriel huffed, finding himself unable to counter that. “I gather you will be here tomorrow morning.”

Adrien nodded, confidence starting to come back to him in waves. “Should we expect you too, then?”

“Guess, you’ll have to be here and find out,” he _threatened_ , watching Adrien for any negative reaction.

Adrien saw that. Adrien _knew_ that.

So he smirked.

“I gather you liked our services then.”

His father threw him one last displeased look and left. The moment he closed the door behind him, Adrien turned towards Tikki and Plagg, still not decided if he should be relieved or even more worried than before.

“I swear I didn’t mean for that to happen. I’m really sorry, today was a mess, you don’t have to put up with me,” he hurried to explain.

“Your father is a prick and if your working here means you get a break from him, you’re goddamned hired," said Tikki, who was still frowning.

And Tikki frowning meant _war_.

“I’m really sorry, I swear. Can you draw some kind of flexible contract? I don’t want to be a burden for any longer than absolutely necessary.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, kid. That’s as good as taken care of. Peace was never an option," he said, matter-of-factly. "Just make sure you’re here a little before we open tomorrow.”

“Right,” Tikki seemed to remember, “we need to tell your colleague too.”

Adrien hadn’t known anything about another person working there. “You have hired someone else too?” he asked, confused.

“Oh, yeah, it shows that you’ve been busy this past month,” she smiled at him. “You’ve really never caught her before?”

“Nope,” he shook his head.

“Mmm, she’s been a god-sent. It’s basically thanks to her that we get to manage the pastries part, she comes up with all sorts of ideas to improve our recipes, and her decorations? Miraculous. You should’ve seen the cookie-monster cupcakes she made last week.”

Adrien almost drooled at the idea. It was no secret he had a sweet tooth the size of France. Working near pastries would _not_ do him good.

“She was supposed to come in tomorrow, but I’ll text her and see what other time she can come.”

“Yeah… we should probably think of my shifts too. I’m still supposed to model for father besides this.” He cringed. And then cringed harder before adding, “And father’s shoots don’t always end when they’re supposed too…”

Plagg brightened up.

“Tikki, give him her number. Or mail. Or whatever. Let them arrange their shifts whenever they’re free and they can get to know each other too.”

“That might actually work, yeah. I’ll still text her, though, so she knows to expect you. Get your phone, let me give you her number,” she added and Adrien complied dutifully.

  


* * *

  


Marinette’s phone buzzed while she was having dinner. A quick look told her it was exactly who she’d expected and, throwing one last look full of longing at the food in her plate, she picked up the phone and started to type a response to the unknown number.

Priorities.

His message had been brief and on point. He asked her when she’d have the time to discuss shifts and apologized for taking her own shift so suddenly.

She wondered if she should tell him how _not_ upset she’d been with the development, but she doubted he wanted to know how she would’ve only had one hour of break between café-duty and _Gabriel_ photoshoot-duty.

 _ **Don’t worry**_  
_**I’m free now, if you want to get it over with quickly.**_

His response came almost instantly.

_**Awesome** _  
_**Tikki said she mostly needs you in the mornings right?** _

_**Yeah, bakery girl at your service**_  
_**But I kind of have a second job too, and /that/ schedule is a lot less flexible**_

She found out he had a second job too. And that he also had a weird program.

And that he had an extensive collection of cat stickers, and used _absolutely_ every cat emoji his keyboard had.

She’d never known you could use every cat emotion in existence for a single situation but he seemed set on doing just that.

 _ **Ive seen 5000000 cats already and weve only decided what were gonna do for /this/ week**_  
_**If I see one more cat thing...**_

_😿_

She stared at the _cat_ emoji for exactly seven seconds before she clicked _add contact_ and promptly sent him a screenshot with his new contact name.

_**NOOOOOO** _  
_**I’M COOL. /PUSSYCAT/ IS NOT A COOL NAME I DESERVE A COOL NAME** _

_**You** _

_😿😿😿😿😿😿😿😿😿😿😿😿😿😿😿😿😿😿😿😿😿_

That made her snort. Not that she’d ever admit it.

_**PUSSYCAT** _

_**NO** _

_**Yes** _

_**I am wounded and also dead** _  
_**My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined** _

She rolled her eyes but was also far too curious what _he_ would come up with.

 _ **I dare you to admit you had to look that up**_  
_**But**_  
_**Ok**_  
_**Ill bite**_  
_**you suggest a cool cat name**_

_**Ah, I see you're a man of culture as well** _  
_**But don't underestimate my ability to quote you memes in my sleep** _  
_**Also** _  
_***excited😺***_  
_**Watcha say about** _  
_**/Chat Noir/** _

_**/that/ is a cool cat name?**_  
_**You literally just said youre bad luck personified**_

 _ **I mean.**_  
_**Yes**_  
_**BUT IT’S COOL**_  
_**IT’S MACHO**_  
_Macho_. She laughed again and changed his contact name into _Chaton_.

_**Why not Chat Blanc tho. At least that doesnt say bad luck** _

She took another screenshot, this time displaying _Chaton_ as his name.

_**Chat Blanc sounds like a serial killer’s name** _  
_**No thank you** _  
_**Plus, I have black hair** _  
_**And I also hate you with all my heart** _  


_**Sems legit**_  
_**I’ll call you chat noir, stop whining**_

_**BUT I’M NOT COOL IN YOUR PHONE** _

She promptly sent him one last screenshot, his wanted contact name finally in place.

_**I can work with that, /chaton/** _

_**I’m caling you bakery girl for that** _

_**I can live with that asffscdgscd** _

The banter came surprisingly easy, considering it was their first time talking with each other. Sure, it took them another half an hour to even get back to the matter of their shifts, but at least she’d had a good time.

And she’d absolutely enjoyed the fact that she didn’t need to wake up early the next day.

Still, well-rested or not, photoshoots were generally speaking a crazy matter. And it surely didn’t help that they had a sunset photoshoot - which meant they had to work even faster so they wouldn’t waste the light. And after half a day of running errands for the designer in charge of her and barely sneaking in some truly productive moments, Marinette still really wasn’t ready for that kind of chaos.

At least she had Adrien. Who seemed just as done with everything as she was, upon arriving. Adrien, who was also wearing a hat in the middle of the summer. Not that she was going to judge his fashion choices.

“Rough day?” Marinette managed to ask him while they were getting ready to begin.

“You have no idea,” he groaned. “I got a job and today was my second day.”

She frowned, surprised. “Why do you need _another_ job?!”

He snorted and Marinette never figured a snort could transform into a groan so easily. “It was a very on the spot decision because father is a prick. It was either customer service or _Gabriel_ service and let me tell you, I would do literally anything to escape from one in particular.”

“I imagine your dad took that well,” she laughed, trying to imagine Adrien Agreste dealing with a hundred customers that came to his workplace just because he worked there.

“God, don’t remind me. He’s literally threatening to come in to see if I’m not actually messing with him,” he looked at her with such a desperate look she almost felt bad for laughing.

“Sure,” he continued, “that had been exactly what I wanted to do, but still! I’m twenty! He’s literally babysitting me,” he whisper-yelled, throwing a quick look around to make sure said father was nowhere in earshot. “He came yesterday, but today he left me standing on the tip of my toes the entire shift waiting to see if he’d come or not. And he didn’t,” he almost hissed.

“This is certainly gonna be fun,” said Marinette.

“Oh, you can bet, “ he threw her a mischievous look and Marinette raised an eyebrow.

“What are you planning?”

“To mess with him,” he said, like it was nothing. The make-up artist called him and Marinette could swear his eyes twinkled as he asked, “Wanna watch the world burn?”

She nodded, confused, and he smirked. Then took off his hat. Marinette’s jaw literally dropped as she took in his very _not blond_ hair, and with a chuckle and a wink, he went straight to make-up.

She watched him turn every head in his vicinity in his black-haired glory, and Marinette stood up and snorted. _She had thought the day would be chaotic before?_

She cracked her knuckles and braced herself to deal with a lot of currently confused, angry and screaming people who certainly could not appreciate the sight that was Adrien Agreste with black hair.

He looked almost as good as he did in _glasses._

The funniest part was when, at the end of the shoot, Gabriel himself got out of a car and walked purposefully towards his son. His stance screamed murder and Marinette was almost concerned for his well-being, but a look at him told her he was surprisingly relaxed.

In between all the work she had to do, she caught glimpses of the two talking a little off the main location, way out of earshot. Then she saw Gabriel talking with the photographer and looking through the photos, not noticing how Adrien sneaked beside her.

“How did that go?” he asked, startling her.

“Shouldn’t I ask you that? He seems _murderous_ ”.

Adrien laughed and followed her as she kept arranging the clothes used during the shoot.

“Oh, he is. But I have solid arguments. Neither of us want people to recognize me at work.”

“Didn’t this photoshoot just ruin that plan?”

“Neh. They’ll just photoshop me back to blond. Next time I might have to wear a wig though. They gotta see what works better.”

Marinette bit her lip and looked at him wondering how long it’d take him to register what he'd said. He didn’t.

“Why are you looking at me like that,” he asked, a smile tugging at his own lips. It was obvious she was holding back laughter; he would never want to miss a good joke.

“Hi, Hannah Montana.”

Marinette burst out laughing and Adrien groaned, covering his face. He didn’t take long to join her, though, his own laughter ringing alongside hers from behind his hands.

It was nice, spending so much time with him.

And he kept proving it to her every day she came in to work just to be greeted by his smile, and puns, and updates, every day they managed to go get lunch together or got off at the same time and he walked her home.

She loved how this closeness slipped into online too, their group chat being more alive than ever with their crazy stories, and their private chat getting more used every day.

And the weirdest part was that she loved talking to her coworker as much as she loved talking to Adrien.

She and Chat had the same easy going attitude and their jokes were _unreal_. And, Chat especially, was annoying in the most endearing way possible. Since he couldn’t see her live reactions to all his jokes like Adrien mostly could, he reacted to her every laughing emoji like it was a present on his birthday. The teasing, the banter, the little stories about their everyday lives made them get a lot closer than she’d expected.

Even Plagg and Tikki knew about that, though they were pretty surprised they didn’t know who the other was. They hadn’t thought it’d last for so long, but after the two nagged them one too many times over the course of a week, she and Chat agreed their managers were way too invested and they couldn’t miss the opportunity to mess with them.

She was pretty sure Tikki was getting frustrated, but Plagg seemed to have started to enjoy the gag as much as they were.

He seemed to find it weirdly entertaining to talk to her about Chat and, according to the boy himself, he found it just as entertaining to talk to him about her.

In the end it took them two months to finally see each other in person, and she couldn’t believe she had to catch a cold for that to happen.

Now it was Monday and Plagg was laughing at her kitten sneezes, and then, before she knew it, it was Tuesday and she had a full blown cold and a thousand things to do.

Tikki was busy, her most popular comic getting released in a physical format soon enough she didn’t have that much time to make any necessary edits and thus spent every moment she could working on it. Plagg still sucked at everything related to frosting and cream. And Chat was busy enough as it was, from what she knew; she didn’t want to just call him and tell him he’d have to give up his free morning - if it even was free - to take her shift.

“Are you sure you haven’t caught a cold,” Tikki'd asked the day before, when her nose was just a little bit red, and her throat wasn’t even raspy.

 _“Of course,”_ she’d said. _“I’m fine,”_ she’d said.

And then she wasn’t.

Now her throat was very much red, her voice was very much funny, she had a mild fever too, and she still really didn’t want to bother either Chat or Tikki.

But she still thought it wasn’t all _that_ bad. She could still function pretty well. She’d even taken some medicine, just to make sure. She was pretty sure she was thinking clearly enough. _What could go wrong with that?_

So she washed her face, brushed her teeth and blew her nose as thoroughly as she could. Then, with her favourite ladybug-spotted mask in place, and hair tied in a messy bun on top of her head, she cursed every force in the universe that decided it was even possible to have a cold in the middle of the summer, and left for work.

At least she wasn’t on _Gabriel_ duty too.

Not that Plagg was happy anyway.

“You’re going home,” he said.

“I wanna help,” Marinette whined right back and promptly sneezed.

Plagg didn’t even feel the need to add something, he just quirked an eyebrow at her.

She would’ve liked to show her determination by winning the glaring contest they were obviously engaged in, but then she sneezed again.

“I’m not letting you get more people sick.”

“I’m wearing a mask and I have gloves in my bag.”

He raised his other eyebrow too. “Do you even hear yourself? Like, really, you don’t even sound like yourself. You’re clearly in no position to be working today.”

“Why did you have to choose today of all days to be rational?!” she groaned, crossing her arms.

“You do know I’m an adult, right?”

“You don’t say,” she deadpanned. “Could’ve fooled me.”

“And you do know Tikki and I have managed this by ourselves for years before we hired you and Chat, right?”

He stopped abruptly, an idea _visibly_ taking shape behind his mischievous look. His eyes twinkled.

“Tikki’s birthday is coming up,” he said, out of nowhere, and got his phone from his back pocket.

“I... know?”

“Oh yes, and you’re idiots, so I’m giving her an early present.”

Before she could ask for any clarifications, he had already dialed a number and had the phone pressed to his ear.

“Rise and shine, we need you here.”

Marinette frowned and opened her mouth but Plagg was faster again.

“Yes, it’s an emergency,” he seemed to answer to whom she supposed could only be Tikki.

“It’s really not, don’t come if you’re busy,” she said right after Plagg finished, hoping she could hear her and frowning even harder at Plagg.

She might’ve been wearing a mask, but she was pretty sure it was not her eyebrows' lack of effectiveness that made Plagg grin like the cat that got the cream.

There was silence for a couple of seconds, and Plagg’s grin seemed to stretch even wider.

“Yes, that was her,” he drawled out, looking straight into Marinette’s eyes. “She has a cold,” he added. "And I can’t work today.”

“You didn’t…” she started, but Plagg interrupted her without a care in the world.

“‘Cause I can’t. You’ll be here in twenty, right? Good.”

Marinette was pretty sure he never actually listened to what his wife had to say, but he ended the call immediately after nonetheless.

“You said you had no problem with me going home,” she frowned at him.

“I don’t,” he grinned. “Now come in my office, I’ll make you some tea and you can stay there for a bit while I get the pastries out of the oven.”

“I’m not letting you touch that frosting,” she frowned at him again as he caught her arm and dragged her to the office.

“Not even dreaming of it. But you’re not either.”

“Shouldn’t I head straight home, then?”

“Nah, a tea would do you good, believe me.”

Deciding it was easier to go along with him rather than against him, she sat on their soft couch. With Plagg out of the room, she thought she might as well take full advantage of his hospitality and lie down.

He was back in less than ten minutes, but she was half asleep when he came in anyway.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready to open now?” she asked, mask tucked under her chin as she took a first sip from the hot tea he’d given her. Plagg was spinning idly in his chair.

“I’m making an exception today.”

“You’re opening late?” she frowned over her mug, enjoying the steam that came from it a little too much.

“Not with much,” he shrugged, “but it’s for a good cause.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Making me tea when you could just send me home and be done with it?”

“Aren’t you a funny one?” he mock-smiled at her and kept on spinning. She briefly wondered if all that spinning didn’t make him dizzy.

“Tikki’s still gonna kill you.”

“She really won’t,” he smirked and she started to wonder what it was that he was actually planning.

They stood in companionable silence for a while, her sipping at her tea and just lost in thought, him, playing on his phone, while _still_ spinning.

“I should probably go open,” he finally said after typing a quick text. He stood up and stretched like a cat.

“You probably should,” hummed Marinette right back and followed him with her gaze as he got out, stretching again. She wondered if the only reason he got up when he did was because Tikki had texted him she was close. Seemed legit.

Taking a couple last sips, she stood up too and tugged her mask back over the nose. Empty mug in hand, she opened the door and promptly tripped over her own feet.

Because that wasn’t Tikki helping Plagg behind the counter.

That was Adrien Agreste in all his black-haired-glasses-wearing-glory.

And she… she needed a minute. Too bad both men noticed her pretty quickly.

“Hi,” she meeped. His smile almost made he regret she hadn’t gone back into borderline stalking mode just so she would’ve been prepared for the revelation that her really good friend and definitely crush Adrien Agreste was also her actually really good friend and partner in memes Chat Noir - the cool and _macho_ punster.

She saw Plagg biting his fist so he wouldn’t ruin the moment, and somewhere at the back of her mind she registered how funny it must have been for him and Tikki to hear her talk about Adrien-school-crush-Agreste from work and Chat-sweet-colleague-Noir from the other work like they were two completely different people.

Which they really weren’t, in retrospective, and not just because they were literally the same person.

The cause of her multiple errors per second didn’t seem nearly as confused and bewildered as she was, however.

Instead, he had the brightest smile on his face and she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d actually figured her out somewhere on the way.

"As happy as I am to finally meet you, m'lady, I can't believe I only get to see half of your face," he laughed, and the way Plagg snorted made her realize two things in the span of two seconds:

1\. Adrien absolutely hadn’t figured her out yet,  
2\. The whole situation was actually very funny and she had the power to make it funnier.

So she smirked.

Not that anyone could see it.

Maybe her cold hadn’t left her just _as_ clear-minded as she’d thought. _Oh no. Anyway._

Confidence surged through her, sudden coughing fit briefly interrupting her or not.

“You ok there, kid,” asked Plagg through wheezes, and she glared at him.

“Yes,” she coughed again, “God, yes, I am.”

She got closer to Adrien, her eyes never leaving his own.

“You don’t recognize me,” she said, after a couple of seconds, and he looked at her puzzled, excitement still shining bright on his face. He raised a perfectly trimmed eyebrow and she giggled.

She spied Plagg taking his phone out and holding it towards them. It didn’t take a genius to realize the little shit was having the time of his life and that he was recording it too. Good thing she was having the time of her life too, and Adrien was far too busy being confused to be smart. Or to notice what Plagg was doing.

“Oh my God, you don’t recognize me.”

“Should I?” he finally asked and Marinette laughed.

“We work together.”

He somehow got even more puzzled.

“I mean, yes… we do? For like, two months now? But I thought Plagg and Tikki didn’t tell you who I was either.”

“Oh, they didn’t. I meant at _Gabriel_.”

All the math he knew was clearly not helping him and she realized the mask, the raspy voice and the messy hair didn’t quite make the image of Marinette he must’ve gotten used to in the past couple of months.

“We… work at _Gabriel_? Together?”

“Yep,” she nodded, still grinning widely under her mask.

He leaned over the counter, getting almost in her face, and attacked her with ten overly enthusiastic questions per second, “Who are you? What department do you work in? How do we know each other? How often do we meet? Do we know each other well? Did you really not know I worked here until now?!”

“Yes,” she answered oh so helpfully and he groaned, still smiling.

“Come oooon, help me out, here!”

“I told you, we know each other and we work together at _Gabriel_.”

“But that’s not helping me, I work with half the company!” he whined. She was having way too much fun with this and the quick second she locked eyes with Plagg told her just how well they understood each other in that moment.

“Guess that means you’ll have to figure me out now.”

“I hate you,” he groaned. “That’s so not fair and I can’t believe you’re siding with them now,” he added, gesticulating widely towards the still filming friend who was fortunately far enough to not get hit.

“You really don’t,” she laughed.

“I really don’t.”

She sneezed, and became very abruptly very aware of her cold again.

“I’m also sick, so… have fun, hot stuff.”

_Yep, she definitely needed a nap. Or five._

Plagg burst into a new round of laughter and she left for the door. Turning around the _Closed_ sign, she spied Adrien and the deep blush adorning his cheeks, and left, way too satisfied with herself.

She thought about him all the way home, finding out just how easy it was to merge Adrien and Chat Noir into a single boy whose company and banter she enjoyed more than anything else, without a doubt.

Sleep overcame her quickly once she got back in her bedroom, but the same way the boy never left her thoughts as she fell asleep, he came to the forefront of her mind just as promptly as she woke up.

In the form of too many messages. Someone had been clearly catastrophizing the hell out of their meet up.

_**I’m really sorry i didn’t recognize you I swear I didn’t mean not to** _  
_**But I will** _  
_***sad kitten meme*** _  
_***sad kitten meme*** _  
_**Are you mad?** _  
_**Please don;t be mad** _

_***sad kitten meme*** _  
_***sad kitten meme*** _  
_***sad kitten meme*** _  
_***sad kitten meme*** _

_***sad kitten meme*** _  
_***sad kitten meme*** _  
_**im really sorry** _  
_***sad kitten meme*** _  
_**but you’ve given me clues today** _  
_**i will use them** _

_**pls dont be mad at me im just stupid** _

Suddenly very awake, she hurried to send him something reassuring.

 _ **IM NOT MAD**_  
_**I WAS JUST NAPPING**_  
_**IM SO SORRY CHATON**_  
_**Im not mad at you, it was actually funny. my voice is also raspy because of the cold.**_  
_**And I was wearing a face mask.**_

_**You’re not mad😺** _

His reply came almost instantaneously and she smiled.

_**Im not XD** _

_**Any more clues for me today?😺** _  
_**Also, are you feeling better? Did you take any medicine? Tea? Cookies?** _

_**Cookies are not medicine. But yes, i got some pills before i fell asleep. Im feeling better now** _

_😺_  
_**Clues?😺** _

_**No😺** _

_**😺why😺** _

She could see that exact expression on Adrien’s face - an eager puppy. She considered changing his contact info again, but then she figured she was messing with him enough for the time being.

 _ **Because**_  
_**Im having fun**_  
_**And im also gonna panic way too much if you figure out too early**_

_**Is that a clue?😺** _

_**No? I guess? It depends? I dont think it is tho** _

_**I hate you😺** _

_**You dont** _

_**I dont😺** _

She looked at his last text, typed the perfect response, then deleted it as fast as she could, heart beating rapidly.

It was short. Simple and direct.

She typed it again and looked at it for a full minute before she decided what to do with it.

Heart beating rapidly, she pressed send. 

_**< 3** _

_***screenshot*** _

His changing her contact name to _Ladybug_ made her weirdly satisfied.

_**I can now sleep in peace when I get home** _  
_**Thank you** _

_**It??? wont?? be night???? when you get home???**_  
_**Why sleep so early?!**_

_**Look :3** _  
_**Inside me** _  
_**There are two cats** _  
_**And both of them are sleepy** _  
_**Im sleepy** _  
_**It’s been a /full/ day, ok :3** _

She stared at his strings of texts for a second, processing what he’d written. And for some reason that had _nothing_ to do with his puns having grown on her and _everything_ to do with her muddled thoughts and slight fever, the silly two wolves meme reference used in that context was the funniest thing to Marinette in that moment.

He kept his words and he took a good and long nap. Which she knew. Because for the rest of the day she talked with him as often as she could, her newly opened eyes only adding a plus of understanding and _entertainment_.

But that, combined with her cold, made her forget that just because Chat-Adrien knew Ladybug had a cold, that didn’t mean Adrien-Adrien knew Marinette had one too.

So Adrien’s barrage of sad emojis and texts telling her he went to look for her in the Design department and that he was told she’d called in sick, took her by surprise initially. Then she facepalmed, wondering if that was finally the last clue he needed to figure everything out.

Apparently, it wasn’t.

For the two days she spent at home resting and generally getting better, Adrien sent her an equal amount of texts in both chats, and neither of them gave the littlest hint he was on to anything. The closest he’d come was to tell her the night before she was supposed to come back to work, that he had some exciting news he couldn’t wait to share with her.

It made her smile.

She didn’t quite expect, though, for Adrien’s first words to her on Friday to be “I need your help”.

They didn’t get to meet in the morning - when she now knew he’d had a shift at the café - but he had a shoot scheduled for the afternoon and she was supposed to help.

He got to her as she was inspecting the countless clothes on the racks to see if everything was alright with them and completely up to the standards, but Adrien coming from behind and whispering ‘ _boo_ ’ in her ear, was definitely distracting enough to make her willing to abandon her task for a couple of minutes.

She had strong reasons to believe the sudden invasion of butterflies fluttering in her stomach had nothing to do with any remnants of cold, and everything to do with the ghost of his breath on the shell of her ear.

“Hey, what’s up,” she asked, blinking up at him and trying not to _stare_ into his eyes.

“I need your help,” he said, a weird kind of sobriety taking over his features as he stared right back.

“What’s got you so serious?” she asked, visibly confused - and curious.

“The mission! The one I need your help with.”

“Didn’t you say you had exciting news?”

“I do, it’s about the mission.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not robbing any banks.”

She said that so seriously he couldn’t hold back a roaring laugh, but with a quick cough, he schooled his features back and leaned in to whisper in her ear again.

“I need to find someone.”

He seriously had to stop that if he wanted her to function like a normal human being.

“Playing spy?” she breathed out, trying to sound like the butterflies weren’t almost up to her throat.

“More like Hide and Seek. But I don’t know who I’m looking for.”

“How does that even work,” she asked, genuinely surprised.

“Ok, no, I kind of know, but like, barely. She works here. That’s for sure. And she has black hair. And she could've been Asian. I think. I literally saw her only once and half her face was covered. And I was also very excited and very mortified at the same time.”

He gave her the briefest summary of their interactions as Ladybug and Chat Noir but he showered "Ladybug", in so many compliments, Martinette had trouble believing he was even serious.

_She was clever, funny, witty, extremely pretty, had eyes like an angel…_

She also had cheeks as red as her namesake by the time he was finished. Not that he seemed to notice.

“But you literally saw her,” she interrupted him after a while, completely disbelieving. “You have all the data you could need to know what to look for.”

He groaned.

“We covered that, I’m stupid, now let’s get over it.”

Marinette sighed. “You’re something else,” she shook her head.

She was _half Asian_. She wondered just how many petite, half-Asian girls his age with blue eyes he could name off the top of his head.

He _couldn’t_ be that oblivious.

“I’m also very much hopeless, please help me ‘cause my father will start to think I’ve developed some kind of late love for the company with how much I’ve been staying overtime stalking suspects these past few days.”

Marinette facepalmed. She missed _two_ days of work. _Two_.

“We’re not calling your girl ‘suspect’,” she deadpanned.

He seemed to brighten up at her statement.

“You think she’ll want to be my girl?”

Marinette was starting to believe not even God could make her blush less obvious.

“How long have you known her again? You don’t even know her name, Agreste.”

She barely interrupted him before he got into another rant about all her qualities and made Marinette start giving errors.

“So, anyway, I had this pretty good lead, an intern, but the vibe was totally wrong. I was thinking of someone in make-up now. The black-haired girl, the one with the red top. She’s supposed to get me ready for today, and I need you to watch her while she’s doing that, see if she seems sus, you know.”

She covered her urge to sigh with another bout of laughter.

“So, red sus, huh?”

  


* * *

  


_**So**_  
_**I’m pretty sure I found you**_  
_😺😺😺_

What he was pretty sure of was that she wouldn’t see his message for a while - morning rush and all that. So he turned his phone back off without waiting for a reply and looked around. _Gabriel_ had its own sort of morning rush but it lacked the warm and vibrant atmosphere at the café.

Plus, his morning was way too slow and way too boring and there was no Marinette to brighten it up.

Instead, he was stuck with too many people too busy to banter with him.

Not that it mattered if they weren’t Marinette.

An hour, two... three... they were passing agonizingly slow, and when the shoot did end, his father felt the need to berate him for how distracted he’d been the whole time.

Before getting out of the building, he checked his phone and smiled.

_**Like the last 3 times or should i actually get my hopes up now?** _

Instead of replying he started walking faster.

He spied her through the glass door of the café when he arrived there. She was still wearing the spotted mask.

“Told you I found you,” he announced cheerfully upon entering, the bells above his head jingling merrily. The customer whose order she was busy with turned around and gave him a weird look, but she giggled and that was all he could ever ask for.

“Different than the other three times, you gotta admit,” he said, going behind the counter and leaning on a wall. He watched her handle the coffee expertly, and the pastries with a baker’s experienced hand.

“Technically, you still don’t know who I am.”

“Never said I did, but I found you, didn’t I?”

“You knew I was having a shift today.”

“Yeah, but for all I knew, your sister fairies could’ve decided it was time for you to go back to your world and I wouldn’t have been able to see you anymore.”

She handed the waiting girl her order and turned towards him with a quirked eyebrow.

“Are you implying I’m short?”

“I’m implying you’re worlds out of my league, more beautiful than any mere human, capable of casting a spell on me literally anytime, and that you also love to play and tease me like there’s no tomorrow.”

The customer threw him a flustered look and he could swear she was sporting a blush of her own as she left the café.

“It’s a _fact_ that you’re short,” he added before she could say anything, a smirk on his lips.

“She groaned and came to him specifically to punch him lightly in the shoulder.

“Stop flirting, you don’t even know me.”

“I know you well enough,” he responded, taking her hand and leaving a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

“You’re distracting me,” she sputtered and turned her back to him.

The mere thought she could be sporting a blush under that mask made his stomach flutter, and, by the way he saw Plagg watching them from the door to his office, the man knew it too.

“You,” he pointed towards Adrien as he came towards them, “ _are_ distracting her, and you,” he pointed towards her, “ _let_ him distract you.”

She rolled her eyes and gave him a look that’d intimidate anyone.

“Half an hour ago you said you had some urgent business to take care of.”

“Code for napping,” Adrien stage-whispered at her, hand raised to his mouth, hiding it from Plagg.

“I felt a great disturbance in the force,” he deadpanned, giving Adrien the stink eye.

“You heard him shout from the door that he found me.”

“Exactly, now, Mister Secret Identity, you said your civilian self was busy today and couldn’t come here.” Plagg looked at him with an eyebrow raised almost up to his hair and his mouth quirked in mock-disappointment.

Adrien just rolled his eyes.

“I was busy the whole morning, I'm just paying you guys a visit, you know I start missing you when I don’t see you for long,” he answered, turning his eyes back to her mid-sentence.

“You had a shift yesterday and I came in to take a coffee in the morning. You literally saw all of us then," she reminded him with an unimpressed look.

“‘Long’ is relative and it means any minute I don’t see you,” he purred.

Plagg decided it was his time to shine. “Aw, should've said so from the beginning, I would’ve given you some extra shifts,” he said, ruining the moment again.

Adrien's grin fell as he turned his face towards the man and, very slowly and very clearly, added, “My lady”.

“You hurt me,” Plagg faked a sob, raising a hand to his heart.

“You’ll live.”

“Damn sure I will, there’s too much camembert I haven’t eaten yet,” he said, with such determination both his employees burst out laughing.

“So, anyway,” Adrien continued, turning back to her, still laughing a little, “Marinette wasn’t in today and the whole day sucked.”

He didn’t fail to notice how she hurried to turn her back to him, but he pretended to anyway.

“That’s because you leave her to do all the work.”

He’d told her _everything_ about the kind friend helping him find her. From how she talked with his ‘suspects’ to how she poked her tongue through her lips when she was focused.

“Yes, but it’s not about that, I’ve told you. She’s just, _so nice_ , Ladybug, she comes in and she makes working at _Gabriel_ seem bearable. I swear, she’s always been like that. Today it was just busy people, and angry people, and some more busy people. I need me some _happy_ people to function,” he insisted, meaning every word.

He heard Plagg snicker from somewhere in his vicinity but he ignored him, all his attention focused on his lady. She still had her back turned to him, busying herself wiping the already clear counter.

He chose not to comment on that, pleased with just smirking behind her back and waiting to see her reaction.

“I’m sure there are plenty of happy people there,” she finally said, fervently rubbing at a ‘dirty’ spot.

“But they’re not _Marinette_.”

He liked his arguments, they were solid arguments.

“You just want to get out of there faster; if you’d tried, you’d have more friends and more happy people in your life. Simple like that, you wouldn’t have to spend all your time with her so you’re not bored.”

She finally turned around and he tried to guess if she was biting her lip under that mask.

“I _have_ other friends there, I know I mentioned them,” he said defensively, frustrated he couldn’t make his point clear to _her_.

“You did,” she nodded, and turned to take the order of someone who just got to the counter.

“And they’re not _Marinette_. I don’t _have_ to spend my time with her, I _want_ to. Everyone else, they’re boring. She’s interesting, she makes everything she talks about interesting. Even _fashion_! And she’s _funny_! She gets my weeb puns! She likes them too!”

“I bet she doesn’t,” she snorted, the customer her latte and looking at Adrien with an amused expression.

“She does too! She laughs every time I take her by surprise. Which means she just thinks they’re stupid but not... _not_ funny.”

“Same difference,” she waved her hand in dismissal and he gasped.

“The betrayal!”

“You’ll live.”

“Not until you admit my jokes are funny.”

“RIP, bro,” she said with such seriousness he snorted.

“I’ll take that stupid - but funny - joke as confirmation.”

“Can I make you change your mind?”

Plagg chose that moment to intervene for the first time since _that_ exchange started. “Tell him who you are,” he whisper-shouted, and both of them laughed. Between bouts of laughter, Adrien briefly wondered if she knew anything about his and Tikki’s bet.

Ten minutes later, smiling, Adrien left the café pleased with himself. Their game was going well.

Marinette found him the next day bouncing on his toes at the entrance in the studio where they’d hold the day’s photoshoot. He noticed her at the same time she noticed him and he raised his hand in greeting, with the largest smile already blooming on his face.

He saw her eyes twinkling with amusement and fondness and he knew it’d be a good day.

“Marinette!” he chirped when she got close enough, “I missed you!”

She nudged him playfully as they entered the studio together.

“We talk everyday.”

“Yes, but it’s been a couple of days since I last saw you.”

He noticed how she determinately didn't look at him, but he saw the blush nonetheless. He considered catching her hand in his and giving it a kiss, but he overthought it and the moment passed before he could do anything.

“Dork,” she muttered, and he felt a hint of shy pleasure in her voice.

Adrien looked ahead at the people buzzing with activity, preparing for the shoot.

“The dork you’re good friends with,” he said, and threw an arm around her neck. It wasn’t better than the hand-kiss, nowhere near as telling, but it was something.

He felt Marinette turning her head up, towards him, “How’s your search been going.”

“Oh, I think I’ve got it this time.”

“Really?” she stopped, and he shifted so he could face her, walking backwards.

“Yep. You might know her, actually.”

He almost crashed into someone and Marinette dashed forward to stop him before he did. She grabbed him by a shoulder and he had a millisecond to decide if crashing into her instead was way too unrealistic for the speed they’d been walking at.

It was.

So he settled for giving her the most dazzling smile and ‘thank you’ he could muster.

“No problem,” she fumbled, letting him go. “So, who is she this time?”

He started walking by her side again and thought briefly that it was a real pity he couldn’t see her face anymore.

“She’s an intern, we’ve even worked together at a couple shoots.”

“Is she here today?” she asked and he smirked.

“Yup,” he confirmed, then proceeded to say nothing else.

Marinette didn’t have any of that.

“So, who is she? Are you really going to leave me hanging like that?”

“Mmm,” he hummed, “I haven’t seen her yet, I’ll point her to you.”

“Oh,” he heard her say, “ok”.

“Oh I think I spotted her,” he said as they got to his changing room. Marinette had been looking around at the clothes hanging on neatly organized rows to be used in the shoot, but then she turned towards him.

“Who am I to observe today?” she grinned.

He made a move with his head indicating an intern he hoped was still there. Black hair and slightly slanted eyes. He had no idea if they were blue or not.

“The one with the backpack on her shoulder?” Marinette asked, furrowing her brow and slightly scrunching her nose, the way she did when she thought hard about something.

He hummed and tried to get her attention again.

“She worked with me yesterday and dropped a couple nice puns.”

She turned back towards him.

“That’s it? That’s the one thing you care about the most?”

He nodded, all serious. “First off, sense of humour is in top three essential character traits, and second off, Ladybug drops some _mean_ puns, really. Plus, she matches LB too.”

… _meh_. Almost.

“Ok, I’ll see if I can talk to her, get anything useful.”

Then she left. Duty called but the head designer _screamed_ and Marinette winced when she heard her name in _that_ tone.

In the flurry of movement, and light, and instructions that was every shoot for him, he caught her eye sometimes. She was fiddling with clothes, or talking with the photographer, or a fellow intern, or another model. Or simply watching him.

More often than not he just watched her, though, moving from one place to another, listening to the designer as they looked at designs and he pointed out things she took in with big eyes and r mouth set determinately.

He spotted her stumbling over some power chords, he saw her munching on something from the snack table and he noticed her dropping her phone at some moment.

No light could be so blinding that he couldn't see her.

The photographer was not as happy as him with that, though. Apparently, he was as distracted as the day before. Just… a little more excited this time around.

He wondered if anyone had noticed a pattern by now.

“Are you sure it’s her?” she started, coming towards him during a break.

“Did you manage to talk to her?”

He had seen her talking to the girl a couple of times but he couldn’t know what about. He was truly curious to find out.

“A little, but her eyes aren’t blue.”

“Really? I might have remembered it wrong, then,” he shrugged and tried to find the girl in question with his eyes. He spotted her a minute later, sitting in a chair near the changing rooms, taking her own break with some friends.

“You really think that,” Marinette asked him, a little disbelieving. “I’d say trust yourself a little more.”

He nodded then turned his head back towards her, locking eyes. “You know, you might be right. I don’t think that’s her anymore.”

She started to hum in agreement, but he continued, “But it’s not the eyes.”

“It’s not?”

“Neh… she’s too still, see? Ladybug is always moving, she’s always doing something. Plus, have you seen her trip at all today? Because LB told me herself - and I saw it at the café too - she’s so clumsy sometimes, she trips over nothing.”

Marinette frowned, but that was not all Adrien had to say.

“She’s endearing like that. It’s the cutest thing ever. One time I got into the café and she had her back to me, humming to some song that was playing inside at the time and fidgeting in place - like she was dancing, but without moving around, you know? It was the cutest thing ever,” he laughed. “She heard me, then, and stopped, and I teased her, of course, but the fact remains.”

“Maybe she’s just being professional, here,” she tried, looking anywhere but at him.

“Neh,” he mused, “I can’t imagine her not doing that cute butt wiggle when she’s excited about something.”

He peeked down at her and could swear her ears were red.

They couldn’t talk much after that, their break over too soon. During the next, he saw her inspecting some of the featured pieces with the head designer, her hand going over the smooth material of a coat and her eyes fixed on the man explaining something to her.

They only caught another moment together when the shoot was over and they were free to return to their other tasks, Marinette needed on the designers’ floor and him, simply free to leave.

He walked her to the elevator.

“Guess today was another waste of time.”

“Why,” he asked, genuinely surprised at her sigh.

“You didn’t find her,” she shrugged.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t a waste of time. Next time we’ll do it, you’ll see,” he winked, and she stepped into the same elevator where he greeted her three days later before his final shoot for the season. He’d be relatively free for a while, he couldn’t wait for the break.

“Today’s the day,” she said, spotting him and linking their arms together.

He hummed in relative confusion.

“When you figure her out!”

“Oh yeah, you’re right, I can feel it too,” he nodded, although she couldn’t see him.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” she asked after a few moments of silence.

Adrien tried to think quickly.

“A model this time.”

“Oh? Who?”

“I can’t remember her name, but she has blue eyes for sure.”

Marinette went along with the idea until he nodded towards a _blonde_ model.

She gave him a very confused look and it became harder with every second to stay serious.

“I’m ready to bet that’s not your Ladybug.”

“Why?”

She took a couple of seconds to just look at him. “She’s blonde,” she said then, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Which… it was.

“So? Doesn’t look like a natural blonde to me. Might’ve dyed her hair since the last time I saw her.”

“Ok, let’s say that’s your next target…” she accepted in the end, and her frown gave in to a very amused expression.

Two hours of really trying to pay attention to the photographer later, Adrien found Marinette again. The model he’d pointed to her had been his partner for half the shoot and after hearing her chuckle as she watched an intern trip and drop the armful of clothes she was taking to the hangers, he found the perfect argument for her not being Ladybug.

He schooled his expression with the skill of a model who had a _goal_ , and sighed, shaking his head. “Not her, I tell you.”

“You don’t say,” she snorted. “What was it, the hair, or the fact that there’s nothing asian about her?”

He waved a hand in dismissal, “Not that, I told you, I can’t count on that alone.”

“What was it then?”

“She’s not sweet enough,” he whined. “Ladybug is the sweetest person, I tell you, not to mention kind.”

Marinette arched an eyebrow and he took it as his cue to elaborate.

“There was that intern, the tall one, she tripped and dropped some of the pieces she was carrying. I don’t think many saw, but she did and she laughed. Ladybug would’ve been the first helping her out, not laughing at her.”

He didn’t mention that he’d seen Marinette doing exactly that a few moments after the incident; he didn’t mention he’d seen her getting to her colleague, giving her the sweetest smile and taking half the pieces she was carrying so she could actually see where she was going.

“Also, she barely acknowledged my puns, so that’s a definite no.”

Marinette laughed and opened her mouth to say something else, but then the head designer called and, with a sigh and an apologetic look, she stood up and left.

It was only after she got home herself that they managed to talk again.

_**Sorry for earlier** _  
_**What are you going to do now?** _  
_**You dont have any shoots planned for a couple of weeks right?** _

_**I have a plan, dw** _

Which was technically true. But there was no fun in her finding out every little detail already. So he changed the topic as swiftly as he could and hoped Marinette didn’t think too much about his plan yet.

Plagg, however, was another matter entirely.

He couldn’t care less about his plan, but he lived for the chaos. And however much she denied it, so did Tikki.

When he came in to work the morning after Marinette started her little game, Plagg teased him relentlessly. But he’d had enough time to figure out the dots, and the line he’d connected them with looked pretty solid. So all he needed was to stare at his boss long enough to make him suspicious - and uncomfortable enough to consider _not_ lying for a second - before he asked a single question with a single name and the gleeful look on Plagg’s face told him everything he needed to know.

“Oh, this is getting better,” he’d said, already seeing the promise of a chaotic idea that hadn’t occurred to Adrien yet.

He had arched an eyebrow, confused, and Plagg had groaned.

“Payback, no?” he’d said, like it was obvious. And Adrien was actually very tempted by the promise of a good laugh. But he liked even more the idea of having an excuse to test the waters and see if he was actually right, if the crush he had on his friend was, indeed, reciprocated. Not that Plagg ever needed to find out about that last part.

All he had needed was to agree to outsmart her. Then, Plagg and Tikki took it upon themselves to discuss their every interaction and every piece of information they could get out of both of them like it was a veritable competition and they were the commentators.

And then they’d placed bets. Like the mature and wise people they were.

There was that too.

It was how they knew about his break from modelling, so before he even heard a ‘good morning’ from them the next day before starting his shift, they asked whether she figured it out or not.

He laughed when he said no.

“Yesterday she said she would explode if you kept complimenting her like that,” Tikki giggled, flipping the open sign on the door.

“I’m doing my job right, then,” he grinned.

“Yes, but I want that massage Tikki promised me if she tells you and I win.”

“Keep on dreaming, she’s smarter than that. She’ll figure him out. One of these days. This bet is as good as won,” said Tikki, rolling her eyes.

“It’s been three weeks, sugar cube. Sunshine here has been as obvious as they come. Plus, I made the reveal happen for your birthday, don't I deserve a little appreciation here?”

"Ah, yes, good job you did, that's why both of them still suffer from the UST," she rolled her eyes and Adrien felt himself blush.

"Not my fault Sunshine forgot how to function when he saw her," shrugged Plagg, turning his head to Adrien and smirking at him.

"It took me by surprise, ok?" he tried defending himself, and then grinned. "But this time it’s gonna be so ridiculous something’s gotta give.”

And when Marinette did enter the café a couple of hours later, mask on her face and a sparkle in her eyes, Adrien felt it in his bones.

It was going to be a good day.

  


* * *

  


Three weeks.

Adrien Agreste could talk to her daily, spend time with her _almost_ daily and all around think of her _probably_ daily too, but not figure out who she was.

She understood him. At first. When he told her he'd been too excited to recognize her. She could see that happen.

But three weeks? Three weeks and he really did not have the slightest idea?

He even got _her_ of all people to help him. And it was one thing to know he was looking for her and completely another to hear him _gush_ about Ladybug to Marinette _and_ about Marinette to Ladybug.

She could only hear she was amazing _so_ many times before it got to her head. Or killed her.

She was this close to telling him who she was herself, it was becoming truly ridiculous.

Tikki and Plagg were also getting insufferable and all that teasing had to stop. She’d never known Tikki could be so _savage_ until crushes and sweet boys whom she _knew_ got involved.

She’d known she and Plagg were, despite all apparent differences, a match made in Heaven, she didn’t need all that teasing as proof.

Still, Adrien was worth it. Even as oblivious as he was.

That’s exactly why, that afternoon, during her lunch break, she took her bag, made sure she had the mask with her and went straight to _Kwami_. The café was only a ten minute walk away and she’d gotten to enjoy spending her lunch breaks there when Adrien was working and she wasn’t too busy otherwise.

Adrien always said - and seemed - to like spending his own break with her too. It was a nice feeling.

Especially since it happened on both sides of the mask. And that, coupled with the fact his words killed her every five minutes whenever they talked, made her wonder if her crush was not so hopeless after all.

She’d ask, she’d decide in a fit of bravery. She’d just… ask him out.

But she always chickened out in the end and resolved to wait until after he figured her out and everything was well.

After that, yes.

In the meantime she could see how much more she could mess with him and how much flustered he could make her.

Because apparently those two only came together.

When she opened the door, her eyes stopped straight on Adrien’s. The corners of his lips twitched up and she hoped the crinkles around her eyes were enough for him to know she was just as happy to see him as he seemed to be.

She got in line, spying him over the shoulders of the two other customers in front of her, but their eyes locked often, and every time, his smile seemed to grow brighter.

She tried to tell herself the heat she was feeling was just the mask and not a blush.

“Hi, chaton,” she smiled when her turn finally came and he bowed to her in the most exaggerated way possible.

“Hey,” he smiled. “How can I serve my lady today?”

He knew her order by heart, she knew that, but she said it anyway and he listened to her saying it like it was something completely new. Or maybe he just watched her, she couldn’t be sure.

When he was done, she started reaching for the cup in his hand, thanking him, but before she could get her hand on it, he caught it gently, with his other hand, and gave it a kiss. She stuttered her way through the rest of her ‘thank you’ and he winked.

“Always my pleasure.”

She threw a quick look behind her, seeing she was definitely not alone in line, and probably anticipating her question, he nodded towards the office.

“Can you go tell Tikki I’d take my break now, please?”

And Tikki wasn’t subtle at all. She asked her three times if there was any progress in the span of the thirty seconds she needed to get from her desk to the door where Marinette was waiting for her, and she literally _heard_ her telling Adrien ‘good luck’ as she patted him on the back and took his place at the counter.

He just rolled his eyes, and Marinette briefly wondered if he shouldn’t have taken that ‘good luck’ a little more seriously. But then he nodded towards a free table, and he pulled the chair for her, and she promptly forgot anything about it.

That boy was too sweet for his own good.

“So, it finally dawned on me, yesterday…” he’d started and she leaned forward, elbows on the table.

“That I might have not been looking where I should have been.”

Ok, but, after _three weeks_ she knew better than to get her hopes up.

“I know it’s you, Chloé,” he said, and he smiled so fondly she almost had a heart attack.

She stared at him, completely and utterly dumbfounded, and breathed out the only thing she could think of, “That’s ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.”

It was clear on his face that he tried, Adrien _really_ tried holding it in, but her Chloé impersonation combined with the sheer idea of her being Chloé was probably so amusing to him too, that he really couldn’t hold in a roar of laughter.

It was infectious, his joy was infectious, and Marinette was sure people were already looking at them.

“That was your worst one yet.”

“I can’t believe,” he tried, between guffaws, “I can’t believe you made a pun out of _that_!”

She giggled and he shook his head, wiping a tear from an eye. He looked at her as if she was the most amazing thing in the world.

She started laughing again, crossing her arms on the table and letting her head hit them with a dull thud.

A _pun_. That’s what broke him.

And made her consider the idea that she’d been playing a completely different role than she’d thought, in their little game.

She raised back up, running a hand through her hair to get her bangs out of the way and still laughing lightly. Adrien was looking at her with the same reverence, but then he leaned forward, lips still stretched in a beautiful smile, eyes glued to her mask and hand slowly stretching towards her. It didn’t take her long to figure he wanted to tug it down, but he stopped just before he could.

“Can I kiss you, Marinette?” he asked, breathless, his green, green eyes meeting hers.

She could swear her heart skipped a beat, mind buzzing with the single thought that _he knew, he knew, he knew_. She nodded absentmindedly, her gaze already moving to his slightly parted lips and anticipation making her heart beat faster, faster, faster.

He uncovered her face so slowly it felt like he was rediscovering it and burning every inch in his memory at the same time. The butterflies in her stomach couldn’t agree if she should feel ecstatic or nauseous, but then her mask was tucked beneath her chin and he was leaning in even more, eyes searching hers again, always, always, asking for permission.

She closed the distance remaining between them herself.

It felt miraculous.

The fact that they were both smiling so much it hurt only made it all better.

They started parting, but when she opened her eyes and saw him like that - radiant, carefree, _dreamy_ \- and she gravitated towards him again. Just for a peck, just one.

He didn’t complain.

But then they were pulling back and Tikki was at their table and she was looking at him with such disappointment and defeat both of them were taken aback.

“You _told_ her,” she said, incredulous and then literally whined, “He’d promised he’d finally let someone show him how to frost the damn cupcakes! She was so close!”

“Cheer up Tikks, he doesn’t get anything either,” Adrien grinned at her and winked too, for good measure. He was beaming.

“If it helps, I figured it out right before he did,” Marinette cringed, hardly containing a smile too.

Adrien looked at her with a quirked eyebrow. “Of course you’d say that now,” he smirked, but Tikki brightened.

“He’s finally learning how to frost the damn cupcakes!” she squealed and got her phone out of a pocket.

“Plagg’s never gonna count that as your win, you know that right?” Adrien laughed, but Tikki paid him no mind, phone already to her ear.

“I don’t care, I won, he gotta,” she said, so absurdly gleeful. Plagg’s voice came faintly from her phone and Tikki somehow brightened up even more as she gave him the ‘good’ news, forgetting everything about her and Adrien and leaving as abruptly as she’d come.

Marinette turned back towards Adrien and saw him already watching her. She wondered if he’d always looked at her like that and she just didn’t want to see it, but then she figured it didn’t really matter.

“Did they…” she started, and threw a quick look back to Tikki, cradling the phone in the crook of her neck as she managed an order, “Did they bet on us?”

“Nope, they bet on _you_ ” he grinned at her and the revelation that _he’d known_ hit her again, just as hard.

“How long,” she breathed out, surprised, and happy, and frustrated, and most of all curious.

“The day after you started it,” he laughed and she couldn’t help but gape at him.

“All this time?”

He started laughing harder before he even managed to utter “Always”. She groaned but she was too happy to even pretend she was annoyed.

Not even that much happiness could stop the mortification coming through, though.

Letting out an even louder groan, she covered her face with her palms.

“You played me,” she whined from behind her hands and soon enough, felt Adrien’s own hands covering hers and trying to gently pry them apart. She ran through everything they’d done together since then at light’s speed and a second realization hit her accordingly.

“Oh my god,” she breathed out, taking her hands away from her face alone, “You did that on purpose!”

“What part?” he grinned.

“All of it! The flirting! The embarrassing me! The part where you were talking about me like you didn’t know you were talking about me and made me seem like the greatest person alive!”

“I mean, yes, but I meant all that, though. It was just a tad bit funnier than how it’d normally go.”

She laughed, still dumbstruck, but then squinted her eyes at him.

“That was payback, wasn’t it.”

He nodded, gleeful, “Absolutely.”

“I did deserve that,” she admitted. “But God, I thought _you_ were the oblivious one! You were literally _so_ obvious, now that I think about it!”

He couldn’t help but snicker. “Yep, but it gave me the chance to see if I was right and you did have a crush on me too. And I was right,” he continued, so innocently excited and happy.

“Everyone and their grandmother knows I still have a crush on you,” she rolled her eyes, amused - and endeared.

“Well, I didn’t. And I’d started to suspect something, but I wanted to be sure.”

Marinette smirked, deciding he’d truly given her enough clues to afford it.

“Well, are you sure now?”

He hummed and started leaning over the table again, “I’m pretty sure, yeah.”

“And are you gonna do anything about that?” she asked, arching an eyebrow and leaning in herself. He’d been teasing her for three weeks straight, he deserved to have the tables turned on him a little.

“Will you go out with me, Marinette?” he finally asked and she closed the distance between them again, with a whisper.

“Thought you’d never ask.”

It would’ve been nice, that second - third? - kiss. They weren’t even smiling that much either. They could’ve really enjoyed it. If nobody coughed beside their table to get their attention.

And Marinette really didn’t like the image of Gabriel Agreste, arms crossed and a neat eyebrow quirked in a perfect arch of doom as he looked at the two of them. She startled, but Adrien barely reacted with anything other than a groan. Straight from the heart, she could tell.

“I expected to see you working, not kissing my interns,” Gabriel said, taking his cold gaze from her and pinning it on Adrien.

Three different realization hit her in the exact same instant and she didn’t know which was weirder:

1\. Adrien had been dead serious and his father actually _did_ come to randomly check up on him at work, even months later, apparently;  
2\. Said father caught them kissing  
3\. Said father was also her boss and he recognized her as one of his interns.

She hated everything and wanted to die.

“You know what,” he started, clearly profoundly displeased with the interruption, “It’s my break, and I get to spend it kissing whoever I want.”

Marinette registered almost as an afterthought that Adrien defending his freedom and gesturing to his father to go on and order whatever he wanted from someone who was _not_ on break, was kinda hot. But then his father sighed and seemed to leave, and Adrien was touching her cheek and guiding her gaze back to his, the softest look back in his eyes.

“So,” he started, not wasting any time, “I was thinking, tomorrow at seven?” he whispered, and she breathed out a smiling ‘perfect’ before kissing him again. Just because she wanted to. And she _could_.

And if Marinette also heard her boss muttering something about the company at least staying in the family… she had more important things to think about at the moment.

**Author's Note:**

> Please keep in mind that English is not my first language. But now that that's out of the way, how did you like it? Did you laugh as much as I did? Your comments always make my day, so please, let me know what you thought of this!


End file.
